Combination pressure and cost computing gauge attachment



L. w. SAG-E May 19, 1953 COMBINATION PRESSURE AND COST COMPUTING -GAUGE ATTACHMENT Filed June 15, 1950 I N VENTOR llafia'fld qye ATTORN E Y5 Patented May 19, 1953 UNITED I STATES owe-E.

COMBINATION PRESSUREQAND; 'cos'r COMPUTING GAUGE-ATTACHMENT.

Luther W. Sage, Grundy, Va. Application June 13, 1950,v Serial .No. 167,885.

2 Claims. (01. 116-129) This invention relates to gauges, and more particularly to adjustable hands or pointers for use therewith.

Those who use so-called bottledgases, particularly in industry where acetylene is used for welding and the like, have been faced with the problem of determining the amount of gas used during a given per-iod. Thegas is expensive, and its cost becomes a major item the determination of the cost of a particular.- job. In repair shops,- the amount of gas usedmust be calculated in the price chargedfor the Work. Up to the present, the cost has been figured roughly from the gauge which is commonly used on such tanks to indicate the cubic feet of gas left inthe tank. As it is impossible to determine the cost with accuracy in this manner, either the repairman or the customer loses on the job.

The object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the accurate cost of the gas used for each job, or during a given period of time, may be quickly ascertained.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such means which will work in conjunction with the present volume gauge, either as a builtin part of that gauge or as an attachment therefor.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description of an embodiment of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a gauge equipped with the present invention; a

Figure 2 is a vertical diametrical section taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the mounting post for the auxiliary hand and adjacent portion of the gauge; and,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, there is shown a gauge I of the general type used to indicate the volume of gas in a container. These gauges are usually connected to the gas container by means of the pipe 2, and a valve (not shown) is used to cut off the line 2 when the gas is not being used. The gauge employs the usual Bourdon tube 3, which serves, in known fashion, to rotate gear 4. The gear is fixed upon a spindle 5 which projects upwardly, and to which an indicator hand is normally attached. All of these parts are enclosed in a housing 6.

In place of the close fitting bezel generally the zero mark on scale 22.

employed, the presentinvention contemplates the use of a second ,.or dial housingfl screwed to the top-ofthe housing 6,. Dial housing 1 is of con,- siderably larger diameter than housing 6, in order to accommodate the dial .8 which is of substantial size and seated within the housing, The baseof the dial, housing isprovided with a :depending collar 9 which threads. onto'the usual threads, at the .top of, housing t. The center of the base of housing hasan; opening ||l through which a'stem passes. Stem II has a central bore extending upwardly from its base to fit upon, and frictionally engage, the spindle 5.. The hands, or pointers, of the gauge are carried upon this stem.

Hand I2 is mounted directly upon stem II, and fixed to it so that rotative movement of the stem will result in movement of the hand. Hand I2 is relatively short and adapted to move over a scale l3 on the dial 8 which is marked to indicate the cubic feet of gas within the cylinder.

A friction washer I4 is slipped on the stem II on top of the hand l2, and barrel I5 is then fitted in place upon the stem, seated upon the washer I4- A coiled spring |6 is positioned within the barrel, and a spring retaining ring I1 is fixedly connected to the stem to hold the spring under compression and to form a stop against which the spring may act when the barrel is lifted. The barrel extends through an opening I8 in the glass protective face l9 which covers the dial 8, and a knurled knob 2!) screws onto the upper end of the barrel, closing the end of the barrel and providing a means for rotating the barrel and the hand 2| which is attached to the barrel. Hand 2| overlies hand l2 and is longer than hand I2, and moves over a scale 22 on the dial. Scale 22 is calibrated to indicate the cost of the gas. The glass face I9 is held in position upon the housing by means of a bezel 23 threaded onto the upper side Wall of dial housing In operating the device, the usual valve is opened to cause the gas pressure to fill the Bourdon tube and move hand l2 to indicate the volume of gas within the container. Knob 20 is pulled outward to lift the barrel from contact with Washer l4, and rotated until hand 2| is over The knob is then released and the barrel, under the influence of spring l6, moves back into contact with washer I4. As gas is consumed, and hand l2 moves over its scale, hand 2| will also move due to the frictional engagement of the hands with the washer I4. Thus, at any time the operator will have an exact indication of the cost of the gas used. Even if it is necessary to close the valve to shut off the gas supply, and so cause the hand I! to return to its inoperative position, the relative positions of the hands l2 and 2! will be maintained, and when the valve is opened the hand 2| will return to the position it occupied prior to closing the valve. Continued use of the gas will cause the hands to move and when the particular job is completed hand 2| will indicate the cost of the gas used on that job even though the gas was used at spaced intervals.

It will be obvious that the gauge may be manufactured in its disclosed form, or the dial housin 1 may be made as an attachment to convert standard gauges. In the latter event, the glass face and hand of the conventional gauge will be removed and the housing Tscrewed in place upon the housing 6. The hand assembly, with the knob removed, will be. inserted in the opening to seat the stem ll upon the spindle 5, and the glass face [9 will be placed upon the housing 1 and the bezel 23 screwed in place. The barrel will extend through the glass and knob may be threaded on it. Thus, the standard gauge may be quickly and simply converted to a cost indicating gauge.

While in the above, one practical embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be understood that variouschanges may be made from-the precise embodiment illustrated and described without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What' is claimed is:

1. An attachment for gauges having a housing threaded about itsperipheral edge and a driven the barrel is so lifted.

; within said barrel to yieldably hold said barrel in contact with said disk, and a hand carried by said barrel for movement over said cost indicating scale.

2. In an attachment for gauges as claimed in claim 1, a glass face over said dial, said barrel protrudingthrough said glass face, and a knob attached to said barrel for lifting said barrel against'the pressure of said spring away from said disk and for rotating said cost hand when LUTHER W. SAGE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 7 Name Date 373,078 Mann Nov. 15, 1887 1,407,987 Crane Feb. 28, 1922 2,169,048 Howe-ct a1. Aug. 8, 1939 2,505,237 Dwyer Apr. 25, 1950 j g FO RElGN PATENTS Number Country Date Austria Mar. 10, 1927 

